Bengaluru man gets ‘wings for life' after fall from 12,500ft while skydiving
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Bengaluru: What would you do if you were falling from 12,500ft and your parachute didn't open? Take a breath. Picture the wind roaring past your ears, the earth spinning below. For
Austin Prakash
, a seasoned skydiver from the city, this wasn't just a nightmare. In 2022, during the jump, something went wrong: A parachute malfunctioned. When he hit the ground, the impact shattered both his legs, changing everything.Fast forward to 2025, eight months after his leg amputation, Austin, now 50, took part in the
Wings for Life World Run
, a global charity race in Dubai where participants run to support spinal cord injury research, with no set finish line.
He walked 2.3km on prosthetics and crutches on Sunday."It took me 39 minutes to complete the trail and find my limit. It took some time to find my pace, and crutches add to the challenge as they require upper body strength and coordination. Eventually, I found the strength. In between, I had to change my prosthetics because of my stump (residual limb after amputation).
But it gave me a taste of freedom, a sense of achievement," he said.Before the accident, he was a man in motion. As both a strategist and entrepreneur, he was part of a Bengaluru-based electronic trading platform through its early years. Off the clock, he chased speed, adventure, and challenges on racetracks, in the sky, and in life. A resident of JP Nagar, he travelled to Dubai in 2019, but got stuck ever since the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Once the lockdown lifted, he went skydiving and his life came crashing down.Over the following two years, he endured as many as eight surgeries, countless hours of rehab, and pain that left no part of him untouched. While initially his legs were resurrected, and life seemed to get better, a serious infection led him to a decision that would change his life. In July 2024, he chose to amputate his leg."I survived. That was the first miracle. It wasn't the fall that defined me. It was everything I did after. For most people, that choice might look like the end of something. After the crash, I didn't want to become someone new. I wanted to stay true to myself. It's not motivation, it's just who I am. The only difference is that I don't have legs. I'm still the same guy," Austin told TOI."It wasn't about how far, it was about showing up. It was about saying, I'm still here. People are desperate to be inspired now. But you can't find it by scrolling. You build it in your circle. You build it quietly, over time... and that's the part that sticks. Not the fall from the sky, but the decision to rise when no one would've blamed you for staying down," he said.
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